ISLAMABAD: In what appears to be an ice-breaking move after months of tensions, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa telephoned Afghanistan’s top political and military leadership on new year’s eve, pledging to work for peace in the region.
His maiden telephone interaction with Afghanistan’s president, chief executive and army chief is seen as the latest push by Pakistan to mend its ties with Kabul that in recent months have been strained by a growing trust deficit between the two neighbours.
Gen Qamar conveyed best wishes for 2017 to President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and army chief Gen Qadam Shah Raheem, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
“The COAS [chief of army staff] said peace in both countries is in the greater interest of the region,” the military’s media wing said in a statement, adding that the Afghan leadership invited Gen Qamar to visit Kabul.
The development came against the backdrop of tensions between the two neighbours primarily because of serious differences on how to deal with the problem of militancy as well as seeking a solution to the long-running conflict there.
Since the killing of Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in July last year in a drone strike in Balochistan, the Afghan leadership has abandoned efforts to hold Pakistan-brokered talks with the insurgent group.
President Ghani and other Afghan leaders have been consistently accusing Pakistan of harbouring the Taliban and Haqqani network. Kabul insists that since the Taliban have refused to enter peace talks, time has come for Pakistan to use force against the insurgents.
Islamabad, however, is adamant that it does not harbour the Taliban and has emphasised that an all-inclusive peace process is the only viable option to end the over 15-year long unrest in Afghanistan.
The widening gulf between the two countries was the main reason that the fragile peace process involving Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the United States could not make any headway. In fact after the killing of Mullah Mansoor on Pakistani soil, the Afghan president said his country would no longer seek help from Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
Despite such assertions, Pakistan avoided indulging in a blame game and stressed that it would continue to play its role as a facilitator for the Afghan-led peace process.
Pakistan’s position has been endorsed by two big powers — Russia and China — at the recently held trilateral talks in Moscow in what is seen as a major diplomatic victory for Islamabad. In an unprecedented move, the two powers expressed concerns over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. They also voiced concern over Da’ish gaining a foothold in the war-torn country.
What was more significant was that both countries being members of the UN Security Council agreed to show a flexible approach to remove some Taliban leaders from the UN sanctions list.
Observers believe China and Russia have conveyed a clear message to the Ghani administration to pursue peace talks with the Taliban and re-engage with Pakistan. This could be the reason that the Afghan leadership has now invited the Pakistani army chief for crucial talks.
Although Gen Qamar promised to work for peace in the region, it is highly unlikely that he would provide a similar assurance as his predecessor did to bring the Taliban back to the negotiating table. His predecessor Gen (retd) Raheel Sharif is believed to have given President Ghani a personal assurance to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.
It was because of his efforts that the first-ever direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban had been held in Murree in 2015. But the process collapsed soon after the Afghan intelligence deliberately leaked news of the death of Taliban longtime leader Mullah Omar.
Security sources say that while Pakistan would continue its efforts to support peace talks, it would not provide any guarantees for success of parlays.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1280909/new-years-wishes-surprise-move-gen-qamar-breaks-ice-kabul/
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